White Tea and Antioxidants

 If you are looking for the ultimate amount of antioxidants as a bonus in your tea drinking experience, look for white tea. White tea has long been a secret known only to the Chinese and now is available to everyone.

While black tea is fermented during the processing and green tea is not fermented at all, white tea is very carefully processed to retain the fullest amount of its antioxidants. All of these types of tea are harvested from the same plant, genus named Camellia Sinensis, which is a relative of the camellia flower.

White tea is harvested early in the spring before the buds are fully opened. The buds are covered with a white down, which historically gives the tea its name. Due to the early picking of the buds, white tea is more scarce than other teas and sometimes more expensive. The buds and early leaves must be picked when the skies are clear and there is no frost because of their delicacy. The harvest is then steamed lightly, dried and not fermented. White tea is the least processed of all the types of tea.

For centuries white tea has been kept for the Emperors and upper classes because of the scarcity and skill needed to process it properly. Now with the studies being done on the benefits of tea as a means for improving health, more plants are being grown worldwide to increase the amount available.

White tea is being blended with many other herbs and fruits to create wonderfully flavorful teas that will satisfy anyone’s taste. Silver Needle White Tea is delicious when blended with pomegranate giving it even more antioxidants as well as the most refreshing flavor.

White tea has been found to have much more antioxidants than black, green, or oolong tea and much less caffeine than either tea or coffee. It has a mild, fresh, delicate taste, softly floral. The lack of caffeine makes it a very relaxing beverage and since it has not been fermented, it brews to a very pale color and won’t stain your teeth. Start substituting a cup of white tea for your diet colas or sweet sodas, even your lattes and you’ll find yourself feeling calmer and as a bonus, maybe even losing weight.

Studies are being done that seem to show white tea may help thin blood and aid in lowering high blood pressure. Catechins, another antioxidant group which is found in white tea helps raise the good cholesterol in the body. Research shows that people who drink several cups of tea per day benefit from improved circulation and blood flow. The antioxidants in white tea help guard against colds and flu easing the discomfort and length of those that become a nuisance.